Advice for going to first GOP meeting locally?

[Matt Collins]

About 20 of the members of our local RP Meetup are taking Rand's advice and attending our local GOP meeting tomorrow night.

I am looking for advice from those who have blazed the trail and done this before. What should we say? What shouldn't we say? Should we be passive? Should we speak our minds?

Advice? Thoughts? Insights?

[Mr. White]

I'd sit there, smile, shake hands, meet people. Talk about small-government. That's it. You are an outsider at this point, no need to act like one too. Be nice and save the politicking for a month or two from now.

[constitutional]

Like a snake, go around---gain respect overtime and then bottleneck those muthafuc.... :) They aren't, by any means, smarter than you.

[raystone]

think local...in the local GOP meetings I've attending, much more attention has been focused on state rep and senator races, and U.S. Rep and Senator races than presidential. Governors also get a lot of time. In general, griping about local dems and cheers for GOP incumbents and candidates

[lynnf]

About 20 of the members of our local RP Meetup are taking Rand's advice and attending our local GOP meeting tomorrow night.

I am looking for advice from those who have blazed the trail and done this before. What should we say? What shouldn't we say? Should we be passive? Should we speak our minds?

Advice? Thoughts? Insights?

you should dress conservatively -- no heavy metal/hip-hop t-shirts, remove any piercing jewelry that you might have, don't flash tatoos if you can cover them up.

above all, don't get into arguments -- the others love to demonize us as angry and anti-republican.

lynn

[mdh]

First time? Be largely passive during the meeting, dress in business attire, and be overwhelmingly friendly with the in-crowd before and after the formal meeting. :)
Don't be shy about letting them know where you stand as a true conservative, but be tactful in how you discuss it. Don't even give the impression that you are disparaging their opinions or thoughts. Do present yourself as a friend (while still behaving professionally), and accept everyone you meet as a possible new friend. I suppose I might liken it to a job interview - you want to be cordial, and let them know you have skills (including people skills!) without sounding egotistical or narcisistic.

Making fun of Democrats is always enjoyable. By and large, our genuine gripes with the Democrats (socialism, big government, etc) work well here, because a lot of these folks feel the same way. In fact, you may find they feel the same way on a lot of things. Finding this common ground will help you in the future when it comes time to get them to support you on issues they may not entirely agree on.

Most of all, appear remember to be cordial and friendly but professional. Most of the people you'll be dealing with are professionals, and you should be too if you want to begin to build the networks that will allow you to have an impact for our ideals in the long term.

[mdh]

you should dress conservatively -- no heavy metal/hip-hop t-shirts, remove any piercing jewelry that you might have, don't flash tatoos if you can cover them up.

I'd go further and say no t-shirts. Depending on what sort of event it is, a polo shirt and slacks or trousers (or maybe very nice jeans if you're sure...) is the least you should go for, and that'd be for something on the order of a barbecue or other purely social event. Button-down business shirt and tie for more formal meetings, and throw on a suit or sport jacket for "big events".

Tattoos depends - there're plenty that would not go over well, but something like an armed forces tatt or somesuch is not going to be a big deal.

As far as piercings, earrings on the ladies is just fine. Anything facial is probably not approriate for a business event.

[WilliamC]

Volunteer to help out.

I worked the polls in my precinct the last two elections.

I may also volunteer to help Greg Davis, who won the run-off election for Republican nominee for our 1st Congressional District, when we get closer to the general election in November.

I would not consider volunteering if his opponent, Glen McCullough, had won. He's a neo-con through and through.

Greg Davis made a much better impression on me the one time I met him. He at least seemed very sincere that he would govern strictly in accordance to the Constitution, even over and above sending money back to our district.

I'm thinking to send him a copy of Ron Paul's new book as soon as it comes out.

[slacker921]

Find a local candidate that you support.. it's not that hard. Make sure people know you support that candidate far more than you care about the presidential race. i.e. I don't necessarily agree with the GOP on their choice for the presidential nominee, but we've got some serious local and state races happening for the primaries - and if they don't work out well then the Democrats will do much better in November HERE.

Obama getting the white house would be bad.. McCain getting it would be bad.. but if the Democrats take some of the local races then we've got some serious problems ahead here "on my street".

So it's not hard for me to go and work with the GOP to try to push the best local candidates forward.

[pepperpete1]

If you are showing up as a group, I would mix it up. Converse with the others rather than just among yourselves. The conservative dress and other suggestions offered are good ones. I wish I had another Ron Paul supporter to see at our county GOP functions. In the mean time I listen, there were 4 candidates running for US district 88 here in MI, at the meeting giving a stump speech as to why they should be elected and were looking for support. One of the candidates does know I am a Ron Paul supporter and hasn't let the cat out of the bag, I think he may be a closet RP supporter himself.
Let us know how it goes.

[joemiller]

About 20 of the members of our local RP Meetup are taking Rand's advice and attending our local GOP meeting tomorrow night.

I am looking for advice from those who have blazed the trail and done this before. What should we say? What shouldn't we say? Should we be passive? Should we speak our minds?

Advice? Thoughts? Insights?

Be relaxed. I hope you are all registered Republicans...you might want to make sure you have your voter registration cards with you, just in case. Talk only about and be interested in only local political issues and local politics, that's all. If someone brings the issue up, and only then, don't be afraid to tell them you don't support McCain, a lot of conservatives don't either -- but don't use the "n" word under any circumstance, not even when describing McCain.

Oh, I almost forgot...if someone accuses you of being a Ron Paul supporter, tell them the truth, but also point out that Ron Paul himself is a Republican.
joe.

[hawks4ronpaul]

Assuming you are new and outnumbered:

Be sociable and helpful (setting chairs).
Listen more than you speak. Ask questions. People like to feel smart.
Phrase things not in candidate terms but in core Republican values (stop Democrats, stop spending, stop deficits; smaller gov., lower taxes).
Sometimes say, "I'm thinking about/leaning toward supporting X," or, "I used to think X but now" to show how they might be an earlier version of you (breadcrumb trail of change).
NEVER tell someone that he/she "has to" think/do something.
ALWAYS show how your position accomplishes their goal for them.



http://hawks4ronpaul.blogspot.com/

[Matt Collins]

Thanks for the advice